Recent things I have watched. Short reviews; you can haz them.

The Book of Eli

Go see it, if only for the opening scene with the cat. The ending twist is both good and bad. You’ll understand when you see it.

The Soloist

Predictably mawkish, obviously intended as an Oscar vehicle, doesn’t quite live up to its potential. Worth watching, but you can put it at the bottom of your queue.

Yes Man

This has some funny bits but overall is kind of meh. It’s okay as background noise.

Sunshine Cleaning

I rather liked this. I expected it to fall completely into the background while I watched it but I ended up paying attention to it. It’s got some good dark jokes. It also has Amy Adams in it, and I have liked her ever since Enchanted.

Race to Witch Mountain

Utterly forgettable and unfollowable, but it has the fuckin’ Rock in it, and he’s always fun.

Little Britain

I watched two episodes of this at Stacey’s suggestion. I . . . didn’t really like it. It had a couple good skits in it but overall was a bit too tedious in places. I much prefer The League of Gentlemen (which could be described as “Little Innsmouth“). I’ll probably watch the rest of it eventually but I’m in no rush.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

I don’t remember watching this movie, but Netflix says I did, so I must have.

Lakeview Terrace

Samuel L. Jackson plays both a cop and an asshole psychopath in this film. Shocker, I know. It tries to make a statement about race relations but utterly fails. Your big Fridge Logic question will be “What happens to the kids after the credits have rolled?” Don’t think too hard about it; it’s sad.

Management

Look! A film where Steve Zahn plays an awkward loser! Has some funny moments – mostly involving Woody Harrelson as an aging punk rocker – but it’s skippable.

Righteous Kill

De Niro and Pacino stretch their acting abilities playing a couple ethically-challenged police detectives. It is what it says on the tin.

What Just Happened?

A collection of Hollywood in-jokes. Forgettable.

Mall Cop

Funnier than you expect.

The Good Night

This is a fucked up film. It’s well-written, well-performed, has great dialogs and situations, and is utterly surreal. This is not a good date movie; in fact, if there were such a thing as an “anti-date movie”, this is it.

Bedtime Stories

Adam Sandler falls into the same trap that claimed Eddie Murphy: family-friendly comedy. With kids. I like Sandler’s serious work (Spanglish and Reign Over Me are some of my favorite films); I hope he doesn’t decide to simply ride the money train that is Kiddie Komedy.

Inglourious Basterds

This movie left me with mixed opinions. I enjoyed it. It had great moments. But it also suffers from Tarantino’s love of his own dialog. Twenty minute talky scenes punctuated by about 20 seconds of violence. I get that it’s his “thing” and he’s really good at it but I wonder if he can write anything else.

Fred Claus

I found this surprisingly enjoyable. Vince Vaughn’s charistmatic curmudgeon schtick can wear at times but here it worked. I was surprised at the heavyweight talent they managed to trot out for this. It’s worth a viewing.

In the Valley of Elah

The best way to describe this film is “brutal.” It is an intense film with excellent performances by the principle actors. It is a searing film and has some important things to say about what happens to soldiers. I absolutely recommend it, but I could have done without the pointless shot of a topless, 55-year-old Frances Fisher.

Milk

I am a Bad San Franciscan for not having seen this film earlier. In my defense: I know the story fairly well and I’m not a huge fan Sean McPunchalot. It was a good film if not a bit on the long side. I rather like how they handled the actual murders – with quiet respect – and I like that they didn’t turn Dan White into a raving psychopath who hated gay people (instead, he is a difficult man with a persecution complex). I didn’t like that there was no discussion of the aftermath (e.g., The Twinkie Defense), but maybe they’ll keep that for the sequel.